06/17, 3:47pm

Most likely candidates for reviewing party Samsung, Google

Two more "anonymous" patent re-examination requests for Apple patents have been filed with the US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO). The two patents, involving Apple's Visual Voicemail and autocorrect features, are both at stake in the ongoing legal maneuvers between the Cupertino manufacturer and Samsung.

05/10, 8:00pm

Feature rumored to be added with upcoming update

Microsoft may be planning to bring visual voicemail to an upcoming Windows Phone update. The rumor was posted in a tweet from the Twitter account @WindowsPhone8, which has leaked several other legitimate details surrounding Windows Phone features that were likely being tested by developers ahead of official announcements.

08/19, 3:25pm

Canadian iPhone shortages

The iPhone 3GS continues to be unavailable in much of Canada, writes the Globe and Mail. Despite promises of continual shipments, Rogers says it is once again out of stock for the iPhone 3GS -- launched in June of this year -- and even the iPhone 3G, released in 2008. The carrier's sub-brand, Fido, is still said to have some 3G models in stock.

03/10, 1:15pm

V. voicemail settlements

Two more parties have entered into legal settlements involving visual voicemail, Reuters observes. Though predominately associated with Apple and the iPhone, the technology -- which allows people to listen to voice messages selectively -- is said to have been patented by Judah Klausner, who has in turn sued and settled with parties such as Apple, Skype and Verizon. Among the latest companies to settle is LG, which today entered into an arrangement with Klausner Technologies, in which it will license visual voicemail for phones such as the current Versa.

01/28, 9:55am

iPhone 2.2.1 fixes SMS?

Yesterday's release of the iPhone 2.2.1 firmware may have also fixed a problem with SMS messaging, accounts on Apple's support forums suggest. The issue involves an error message triggered every time a user attempts to send a text, previously impossible to resolve with any resets or settings adjustments, though some success has been reported after switching SIM cards. The problem appears only to manifest after installing the v2.2 firmware.

06/16, 8:20pm

Visual voicemail dispute

Apple and AT&T have reached a settlement with Klausner Technology over patent disputes, and have agreed to license the technology from the firm. AppleInsiderreveals that the suit, originally filed in December, was brought against the companies in response to the iPhone's "email inbox"-style voicemail presentation, one of the original device's highly touted features. Klausner says the two companies were in violation of US Patents 5,572,576, and 5,283,818.

01/22, 11:40am

V. Voicemail suit settled

One of Apple's co-defendants in a lawsuit has settled its case, according to an announcement. SimulScribe has reportedly settled with Klausner Technologies, a company that accused it -- along with Apple, AT&T, Comcast and Cablevision -- of breaking patents relating to visual voicemail, a technology which allows users to selectively pick which messages to listen to instead of hearing them all at once. The terms of the settlement involve SimulScribe licensing Klausner's patents, joining the ranks of other companies such as AOL and Vonage.

01/16, 2:10pm

CallWave Virtual Voicemail

CallWave today launched its Virtual Voicemail client for Mac OS X, allowing users to access iPhone-like visual voicemail on a Mac with any mobile phone and virtually any service provider. The application resides in the Dock and offers notification of missed as well as new messages, optionally transcribing voice messages to text. Users can read as well as hear messages on the desktop with the ability to reply by text, email, or call back. Pricing ranges from $10/month to $45/month on an annual basis.

12/18, 12:45pm

Unreal Tournament 3

MacSoft today announced that Unreal Tournament 3 for Mac is coming early next year. Licensed by Midway Home Entertainment and developed by Epic Games, Unreal Tournament 3 delivers "the most frantic gameplay and stunning visuals yet in the award-winning Unreal series," as well as new vehicles, new weapons, and the deepest single-player campaign in the series to date. The title is being developed on the industry's leading engine, the Unreal Engine 3, and is scheduled for shipment in early 2008.

12/10, 11:45pm

Brain Challenge for iPods

Gameloft on Monday announced that Brain Challenge, a game designed to stimulate and enhance brain activity, is now available on the iTunes Store. The company says the games serves as an easy solution for keeping the brain alert, offering different levels to choose from based on a player’s abilities and needs along with a simple scoring system to evaluate the level of brain activity. The title features 20 different games designed to train certain areas of brain activity based on five categories of exercises: Memory, Visual, Logic, Math and Focus. At the end of each test, players receive marks based on accuracy and speed and a diagram summarizes their performance in each category so that players can monitor the progress of their brain training daily.

12/05, 4:00pm

Orange Visual Voicemail

Countering a previous announcement that said Visual Voicemail would not be available in France until February, users in metropolitan areas of France are reporting that they have full access to the service. SetteB.IT recently spoke with Louis Michel Aymard, spokesman for France Telecom, and he confirmed that visual voice mail had been operational since November 29th. This is especially good news for French iPhone users, since Orange has sold 30,000 of them to customers in five days, with 48% signing up for the two year contract.

12/03, 3:45pm

Visual voicemail lawsuit

Apple has been hit with yet another lawsuit concerning the design and implementation of the iPhone. Klausner Technologies, a company that claims to be the inventor of the modern PDA, is suing Apple for $360 million over patents 5,572,576 and 5,283,818, which allegedly describe functionality used by the iPhone's visual voicemail feature. The firm is also suing Comcast, eBay and Cablevision under the same guise. Klausner has already licensed these patents to AOL, Vonage and others. The crux of the suit holds that Apple violated Klausner's patents by allowing users to selectively retrieve voice messages via an inbox-type display.

11/28, 5:00pm

Orange iPhone, Canada

French iPhone users will have to wait for visual voicemail, and a website is offering Canadians the chance to purchase an unlocked iPhone just in time for Christmas. With the iPhone launch in France just around the corner, Orange has officially noted that visual voicemail services will not be immediately available, that users will have to wait until the end of January to use the function. In addition to this setback, SetteB.IT reports that Orange will also apply a 500MB limit to EDGE data connections, and will limit access to any of the 30,000 Orange hotspots to 10 hours per month, or 100 hours for customers with the upper level plan. SetteB.IT also discovered that Orange plans to sell the unlocked version of the iPhone for 750 euros, 250 euros less than its German counterpart, T-Mobile.